Five years after: a look forward to the revision of the EWC Directive

We now have well over 500 agreements on European Works Councils. There is already plenty of practical experience. All loo often, the chance for dialogue with workers' representatives is not used by company management. If the European Works Council is to play its role, to participate in managing change, then it needs information that is given regularly and m a written form. Consultation must take place before decision-making, so that the opinion of employees' representatives can still be considered during planning. Preconditions important for the proper functioning of any European Works Council are missing from the Directive, for example, the right to training. EWC representatives must be given the means to meet local representatives, to keep them up-to-date with the information and consultation within the EWC. Companies in the media sector (Tendenzunternehmen) should not be exempt from information and consultation obligations that ultimately are beneficial to the management itself. The threshold of 1000 employees fails to see the needs in undertakings. With the trend towards splitting up companies, “smaller†transnational companies are becoming mare important. Any company that fails to comply with the obligations regarding information and consultation should be excluded from financial support for which it could be eligible in the context of European, national or regional measures.